The May Day Archivist
On May Day morn with sky so blue,
The daffodils in tidy queue,
An archivist with keen insight—
Knows every wright from wronged by rite.
He lifts the lid of boxes brown,
Where secrets sleep in dusty gown.
A census here, a will in sight—
Each line transcribed both clear and wright.
The past steps out to join the day,
In uniform, or workhouse grey.
Their stories told with sheer delight—
Their scribes both birthday-born and wright.
Find a Grave Update
Ancestry updated its version of the Find a Grave® database on 25 April 2025. The table shows the current holdings, those from September 2024, and the change.
| Title | Apr 2025 Records | Sept 2024 Records | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current | 187,897,684 | — | — |
| UK and Ireland, Find a Grave® Index, 1300s-Current | 21,664,340 | 20,774,635 | 889,705 |
| Global, Find a Grave® Index for Burials at Sea and other Select Burial Locations, 1300s-Current | 21,644,984 | 20,990,441 | 654,543 |
| Australia and New Zealand, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current | 12,153,495 | 11,809,409 | 344,086 |
| Canada, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current | 11,310,556 | 10,656,554 | 654,002 |
| Germany, Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current | 4,071,331 | 3,408,652 | 662,679 |
| Sweden, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current | 1,146,124 | 1,138,754 | 7,370 |
| Italy, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current | 402,011 | 376,009 | 26,002 |
| Norway, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current | 237,858 | 231,816 | 6,042 |
| Brazil, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current | 206,115 | 201,506 | 4,609 |
| Mexico, Find a Grave® Index, 1800s-Current | 86,588 | — | — |
Recent Ancestry UK Updates
The UK, British Army World War II Medal Cards, 1939-1945 was updated on 28 April to contain 834,078 records. The original data, from TNA WW2 C.S.20 Army Medal Cards (WO 460). Records include a link to the image, where available, some are redacted, on Forces War Records and Fold3.
A new collection on Ancestry as of 25 April 2025, from the Library of Birmingham, is Birmingham, England, Non-Conformist Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1825-2007. Baptism records are held up to 1932, marriages to 1958, and burials to 2007. The total is 137,890 records. Linked images are included.